Tougher sentences ahead for sex crimes in Victoria after paedophile cops more jail time

A south-west man who got his 13-year-old stepdaughter pregnant has had his jail term increased by four years in an appeal ruling that could pave the way for tougher sentences for sex crimes in Victoria.

The stepfather, sentenced under the pseudonym Charlie Dalgliesh, in 2015 pleaded guilty to incest and other charges and was jailed for five years and six months by a County Court judge.

On the main charge of incest he was jailed for three years and six months despite it carrying a maximum penalty of 25 years.

After two years of appeals by prosecutors who argued the original penalty was manifestly inadequate, the Court of Appeal on Thursday increased Dalgliesh's sentence to nine years and six months, including seven and a half years on the main incest charge.

Dalgliesh, 45, must serve at least six years before he is eligible for parole, having already served more than two years.

Prosecutors in 2015 appealed against the judge's sentence, but the Court of Appeal – despite finding the sentence inadequate and ordering Victorian judges to consider the gravity of incest cases and their effects on children – dismissed the challenge because the penalty complied with sentencing practices at the time.

Prosecutors then took their appeal to the High Court, which two months ago found the Court of Appeal erred in giving too much weight to current sentencing practices.

The High Court then sent the case back to the Court of Appeal for Dalgliesh's case to be heard by three different appeals court judges.

The High Court's decision and the Court of Appeal's ultimate ruling paves the way for tougher sentences to be imposed in Victorian courts, particularly in incest cases.

The Court of Appeal on Thursday found Dalgliesh's offending to represent a serious example of parent-child incest.

"It involved a 13-year-old girl who fell pregnant as a result of the (stepfather's) entirely purposeful and wholly reprehensible conduct," the appeals court judges said in their ruling.

"The offence was further aggravated by his having stood by, while the stepdaughter lied to her mother about who had impregnated her, resulting in the family having to be uprooted."

Dalgliesh was aware the stepdaughter initially lied to her mother that she became pregnant to a boy at her school. The girl later had an abortion.

Dalgliesh also sexually abused the girl's sister.

The County Court judge who originally sentenced him took into account Dalgliesh's mental-health problems and found he was on the lower end of the autism spectrum, which impaired his impulse and control.